The Perfect Catch
by dr. kitten
Summary: Boba Fett gets more than he bargained for when he rescues a young woman from falling to her death. Rated T for some violence/sensuality.
1. The Chase

The Perfect Catch

8-24-09

**Disclaimer: Not mine ... wish it was, though. Please review if you liked it! I have an idea in mind for a sequel, but if I don't get any reviews, I'm not going to write it. So PLEASE review!  
**

**Summary: Boba Fett is chasing a bounty on Abragado-rae when he saves a girl from falling to her death. She then hires him to kill the man who slew her mother and sold her into slavery. But she has only one condition: he must bring her along with him.  
**

Chapter one: The Chase

Boba Fett jetted a few feet higher into the clear air above the capitol city of Abregado-rae. It was a beautiful day, with warm temperatures and a fine breeze, and the occupants of the Spaceport were clearly enjoying it. But Boba had eyes for only one of the many scurrying figures: a lanky Gado who was darting from ledge to ledge with alacrity.

Frankly, Boba didn't blame him for wanting to hurry. Having a bounty hunter with a jetpack and a blaster pistol, among other things, on your tail would inspire you to move quickly. Boba just wished that this particular Gado wasn't moving quite _so _quickly.

The Gado darted into a cleft between two tall buildings, and Boba quickly jetted after him, landing smoothly and running along the catwalk. He could see his target's leg as the creature disappeared on the other side. Boba jumped after him, and just barely managed to stop himself from falling fifty feet to the city streets below.

He looked up to see the Gado leaping from windowsill to windowsill, headed towards the top of the building. Activating his Mitrinomon Z-6 jetpack, he launched upwards and landed silently on the edge of the roof. He pointed his blaster pistol at the back of the Gado's head and said, "Freeze! I will shoot you."

The Gado froze, holding its furry hands above its strange wormlike head. "What do you want, bounty hunter?" it whined.

"You are Djioe Korma, the smuggler, aren't you," Boba said, even though he already knew the answer.

"Never heard of him," the creature lied. "You want someone else, bounty hunter."

_Oh, I don't think so, _Boba thought. He said, "If you're innocent, why did you run?"

"You drew a gun!" the Gado moaned. Boba imagined that the creature was sweating under its fur. "What was I supposed to do: stand there and let you shoot me?"

_So … another idiot. _"Nobody else ran," Boba reasoned. "You obviously know I'm a bounty hunter. An innocent man would have known I wouldn't shoot."

Djioe knew he was trapped. Boba could see his sly eyes rolling in his head, trying desperately to seek a way out. The bounty hunter stepped forward, moving his gun to his left hand and lifting his right in preparation to use his whipcord. But before he could fire, a door slammed on his left, and a girl ran out onto the rooftop.

Immediately, Djioe grabbed the girl and dragged her over to the edge of the roof, keeping her still with a knifeblade pressed against her neck.

"Now what are you going to do, bounty hunter?" the Gado hissed. "If you try to shoot me, the girl dies."

Boba looked between his quarry and the hostage. She was young – about 19, he guessed – and human, with black hair and pale skin. Her blue eyes were wide and scared. Judging by her appearance, and the fact that she'd been carrying a pail of dirty water when she came onto the roof, Boba decided that she was a waitress at one of the Spaceport's restaurants.

Well, it was her unlucky day. He couldn't afford to throw away his chance at getting this bounty just because a random girl interfered and got herself taken as a hostage.

Then again … if he timed it right, he could tie up Djioe and the girl with one move, and then sedate his target and release the hostage. It could work.

"Very well," he sighed. "You've got me this time, Djioe." He dropped his blaster pistol and raised both hands, as if surrendering. But just as his right hand was passing his shoulder level, he extended it, shooting out 20 meters of whipcord.

He could never quite believe what happened next. While his cord was still in the air, right before it struck its target, Djioe actually pushed the girl off the roof. She screamed as she fell, spiraling, through the fifty-odd feet of air between her and her death.

Without hesitating, Boba leapt after her. He angled his body in a steep dive, catching the girl when she was about halfway down. Djioe, who was still connected to the bounty hunter by the whipcord, shrieked as he was dragged along for the ride.

As soon as Boba felt the girl's body in his arms, he pulled out of the dive and activated his jetpack, shooting upwards. He could feel his equipment straining under the added weight of a human girl and a roped Gado.

Just before he reached the rooftop, his jetpack gave out, leaving him suspended in the air for a single second before he plummeted downward. It was long enough. Heaving the girl the last few feet to safety, he managed to catch onto the crenelated edge of the building with one hand. He reached out with his boot and wrapped the whipcord around his leg a couple of times to take the strain off of his wrist. It would be a sad end to the day's hard work if his cord were to snap and drop his target onto to the unforgiving street below.

He started and almost fell himself moments later, when a small hand reached down and grasped his. "Here," the girl said. "Let me pull you up."

"No thanks; I can manage," he grunted, unwilling to trust his life into the hands of a nineteen-year-old waitress.

"I doubt it," the girl said. Moving slowly, she braced herself against the building's edge and hung on to Boba's wrist with both hands. "Now, climb up."

Boba gave an experimental tug; the girl seemed solid enough. Now that he had leverage, he could actually get somewhere. He placed his left foot against the rough wall and pushed upwards. So far so good.

He took another cautious step up and then hooked his leg over the building's edge, rolling to safety. He stood up slowly, staring down at the uselessly dangling Gado below.

"Now, my dodging little friend," he called. "I think we are on better negotiating terms. Do you agree? Or should I just push the release button …" He trailed off menacingly.

"No, no! Spare me, bounty hunter," the wretched creature wailed, looking up at him with dismal eyes. "I'll accept my punishment."

"Very well," Boba said, and hauled him up.

He was just about to lead his now-meek target away when the same quiet voice spoke behind him.

"Thank you."

He turned around. The girl was still standing there, her hands clasped together.

"It was no problem," Boba said, thinking _this is probably the most exciting day she's ever had. Of course she's a little shell-shocked._

The girl's next words took him by complete surprise. "You're a bounty hunter, aren't you?"

Frowning, he nodded. "I'm Boba Fett."

"My name is U-ra," the girl said. "I'm not from this planet. I was brought here as a slave ten years ago, and freed, but I was born on Baramorra. My father was killed by a bounty hunter before I was three, and my mother was killed when I was nine."

Boba didn't respond. He'd heard enough tragic stories in his time that they had ceased to have any effect on him. The only thought running through his mind now was: _what does this girl want from me? _

"I want to hire you," the girl said.

"To do what?" Boba asked.

"I heard that you're the best. That's why I came up here … to have a chance to talk to you myself. I want you to hunt someone down for me … no "catch them alive" stuff: I want him dead. I'll pay you 500 credits … not a lot, I know, but it's all that I've managed to save up. Oh, and there's one other condition … I want to come along with you."

"Sorry," Boba said, turning away. "I'm only doing big jobs these days. 1500 credits or higher. You should go for a lesser time bounty hunter."

"But I want someone I can rely on!" the girl exclaimed. "You showed that today when you saved me, even though you didn't have to. You're not some cold-blooded bastard who just works for money."

Boba couldn't help but laugh. _That's exactly what I am, little girl. _But all he said was, "Why do you think I would be inclined to put up with dragging you around, not to mention accepting a bounty for such a low price?"

The girl took a deep breath. "Because you too knows how it feels to have your parent killed right in front of you, and to be helpless to prevent it."

Boba froze. Memories flashed before him as though he was reliving them.

_A tall man in armor – his father, Jango – jumping down into the field where bullets were flying. The great beast that trampled him, sealing his doom even though it didn't leave a scratch. The robed Jedi with his purple lightsaber that struck his father down, decapitating him before he could escape. Jango's headless body falling to the ground, the damaged and useless jetpack still strapped to his back. Boba the child, crouching on the ruined ground, holding his father's still helmeted head in his arms. At that moment, he knows that his mentor, his protector … his hero … is dead. _

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to banish the painful memories from his mind. When he looked again, the girl was still standing there, hugging her arms to her chest.

"Who is this man you want me to kill?" he asked, his voice raw. _No one had stirred up his emotions since that day …_

"He's a slaver from Coruscant named Jooren Ven. I don't know where he is now."

"Helpful," Boba muttered. "Well, why don't you come back to my ship with me, and I'll look through the network and see what I can find."

"Okay," the girl said. She smiled at him and skipped forward. Boba shook his head, thinking – not for the last time – that he was probably going to regret this.

**Pronounciation guide:**

**Djioe Korma - JEE-oh KORE-muh**

**U-ra - YOO-rah**

**Jooren Ven - JOO-ren VEN**

**If you have to ask how Boba Fett is pronounced, then you should not be reading this story : )  
**


	2. The Reward

Chapter two: The Reward

**Summary: Boba Fett gets into trouble when he goes to deliver his bounty on the rocky world of Gambolla. **

**Note: I took a few creative liberties in this chapter: one was with my design of the territory of Gambolla, and one was with the accent I gave Y'rukkso the Whiphid, and his manner of shaking his jowls when disturbed. Just little things to enrich the story ...  
**

Once they were back at the _Slave 1, _Boba sent his new companion to lock up his prisoner while he searched the ship's computer for information on Jooren Ven. What he found was surprising. Apparently, Jooren was a well-known slaver and smuggler on his home world of Coruscant, but he hadn't visited there in years. Instead, he was living in comfort in a remote mansion on Baramorra. But the most surprising piece of information was that on three different occasions, he had had a bounty placed on his head, and all three times, he had somehow managed to escape.

_Not a fourth time, _Boba vowed. _Jooren Ven's days are numbered. _

A small sound behind him signified U-ra's return. She sat down next to him and looked at him for a while, apparently waiting for him to speak.

"He's on Baramorra," Boba said.

U-ra nodded.

"I'll take you with me, but you're going to stay in the ship while I do the actual hunting, understand?" Boba said, giving her a hard stare from beneath his helmet. "I don't want you getting in the way … like you did today. You could have lost your life, and I my bounty."

"I knew you'd save me," U-ra said. Boba shook his head at her confidence, but didn't speak.

"So where are we going now?" the girl asked. She seemed in no hurry to reach Baramorra.

"_I'm _going to get Jooren Ven," Boba said. He wasn't sure he liked the "we" part. "But first, I have a little stop to make on Gambolla, in the Outer Rim. I have to drop off my old friend Djioe."

*****

Gambolla was a rocky, inhospitable planet even in its most civilized areas; in the remote compound where Boba's employer, Y'rukkso, made his living hunting big game, it was downright treacherous. Boba parked the _Slave 1 _behind a cluster of rock pillars and approached the compound on foot.

Y'rukkso welcomed him with open arms, which was kind of intimidating, considering the fact that he was 6 ½ feet tall and had huge tusks.

"Ah, Boh-bah, so nice of you to komm," Y'rukkso said in his familiar drawl. "You had good luck, I assoome?"

"You assume correctly," Boba said, looking up at the huge creature. "Here is Djioe Korma. Say hi, Djioe." He dragged the shrinking Gado out from where it was hiding behind him.

"Sooo, _thees _ees the leetle worm who dares to stee-al my wares," the Whiphid growled, thrusting his huge face close to Djioe, who trembled in fear. "Thank you, Boh-bah. Here ees your reward."

Boba accepted the jingling bag of coins with a smile, which no one could see behind his helmet. "Thank you, my friend. Before I go, I have just one question. I know you're familiar with a lot of … shall I say … questionable characters. I wonder if you've ever heard of a man named Jooren Ven."

Y'rukkso recoiled and shook his jowls to express his distaste. "Baad, very baad man you speak of, Boh-bah. Not een my house."

Boba bowed his head and turned to leave, but the Whiphid suddenly leaned close and whispered, "Eef you hunt Jooren Ven, you weell want to know thees: he ees smart … much smarter than anyone theenks. And he has many traps. Beware, Boh-bah, lest he set one for you."

"I'll be careful," Boba said. "Thank you again, Y'rukkso."

The bounty hunter was so deep in thought that he failed to notice the warning blip of the mine planted in the trail until it was too late. It exploded, taking a section of the pathway with it, and sent Boba tumbling down the steep ravine in a cloud of dust and rock fragments. He landed hard on the narrow pathway below and lay still.

*****

U-ra heard the noise from where she sat in front of the _Slave 1. _Leaping up, she ran to where the pathway had collapsed, peering down over the jagged edge. Below her lay the still form of the bounty hunter, his arms and legs sprawled in various positions. She couldn't tell from this height, but he appeared to be alive. Moving slowly, she negotiated her way down the slippery, rock-covered slope to where he lay and knelt over him. His chest was rising and falling, and none of his limbs appeared to be broken.

"All right, Boba Fett, let's see what you look like underneath this helmet," U-ra whispered, and slowly eased the headpiece from Boba's head.

She took the liberty of observing him closely for several moments, appreciating that she was one of the few people to ever see Boba Fett's face. Contrary to her expectations, he was actually quite handsome in a rugged way, with dark skin and short black hair. There were several scars running across his face.

_He looks almost peaceful with his eyes closed, _U-ra thought. Slowly, so as not to wake him, he leaned down and brushed her lips against his. He twitched and stirred. She pressed down a little harder, parting her lips and letting her tongue graze his mouth.

"Mmmff," Boba muttered. U-ra sat up quickly, hoping that the special, incredibly potent aphrodisiac mixed in with her lipstick would work quickly. Once the bounty hunter was under the power of the drug, he would be completely helpless. U-ra knew that when that happened, she would have to go along with his desires, unless she wished to have them forced upon her. She knew from experience that those who used such powerful means of intoxication on others were often just as much at risk as their victims.

Boba blinked and opened his eyes. "What happened?" he croaked. "Why is my helmet off?"

"I wanted to make sure you were alive," U-ra said quickly. "You fell all the way down here when part of the pathway caved in. You really should be more careful, Boba."

He didn't react to her familiar use of his first name, which U-ra took to be a sign that the drug was working. She helped him sit up and handed him his helmet, which he quickly put back on.

"Thank you," he said. His mind was a bit clearer now, and he could distinctly remember that a mine went off just before he fell. _What is going on here? _His next thought was of the girl.

_I thought I told you to stay with the ship, _his mind said. "Are you okay?" his mouth asked.

"I'm fine," U-ra said, smiling at him.

_She's beautiful when she smiles. Why didn't I notice that before? She really is an extraordinarily lovely girl. _Horrified, he brushed the thoughts away. What kind of professional was he, to get so distracted by some girl barely out of childhood? Perhaps he should reconsider his decision not to have a family. It seemed he was somewhat starved for female companionship.

"Boba?" the girl murmured. "Are you all right?"

Startled, he realized he'd been staring. "I'm fine," he snapped, his voice sharper than he'd meant it to be. U-ra looked worried.

Boba climbed to his feet and experimentally moved all his limbs. Good: he was sore, but nothing was broken. He looked up. The cliff where he'd fallen was too steep to be ascended. This called for alternative methods.

"All right," he said. I'm going to have to jet up to the top. I'll carry you, so hold on tight."

Before she could say anything, he picked her up, trying to ignore the way that her slim body seemed to fit against his. He activated the jetpack and soared upwards, landing on the ground a little ways away from his ship. He put the girl down, and if she noticed that his hands lingered on her waist a moment longer than necessary, she didn't say anything.

As he watched her walk up the ramp and into the _Slave 1, _he thought, _this is not good at all. I need to finish this mission quickly and send this girl back to where she came from. I never should have brought her along!_

_**Pronunciation Guide:**_

_**U-ra - YOO-rah**_

_**Y'rukkso - ee-RUK-soh  
**_


	3. The Canyon

Chapter three: The Canyon

**Summary: As they're heading to Jooren Ven's mansion on Baramorra, turrets force Boba Fett into an early landing, stranding him and U-ra in the jungle near nightfall.**

**Note: my little additions in this chapter include: seda fruits (no such thing exists) and some of the description of Baramorra. I know that it's a planet with a rainy climate, so I assumed that jungle terrain would be prevalent.  
**

U-ra awoke with a start. They were flying low over the misty jungles near Jooren Ven's remote mansion on Baramorra. Shooting a quick glance at the pilot's chair, she saw Boba, his unmasked face intent on the controls. He seemed to be oblivious that his guest was awake.

She almost warned him about the turrets mounted near the mansion, but bit her lip just in time. If her plan was to work properly, the bounty hunter couldn't suspect that she'd been here before. Well, if the turrets forced him to land prematurely, then that was all the better. She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.

Boba scanned his radar for the fifth time. It came up clear, but his instincts were screaming at him that something was wrong. It was just going too well. No one should be able to sneak up on a crime lord's domain without being noticed.

He entered the steep, thickly wooded canyon, on the other side of which was the mansion. The _Slave 1 _was flying low and fast, barely skimming the treetops. Everything was going fine until he rounded a corner in the canyon walls.

The warning came almost too late for him to react. He swerved abruptly to the right as three mounted turrets – one from each side and one mounted on a platform straight ahead – fired at him. He managed to dodge two of the bursts, but the third landed a glancing blow to the side of his ship. A red light came on.

"What happened?" asked a small voice by his side. Boba glanced over sharply. He'd forgotten that the girl was there.

"We're under fire," he said as he spun the controls again, taking them out of range of another burst from the turrets. "We've been hit. There's no other choice; I'm going to have to land the ship and go on foot. The trees should provide enough cover that those turrets won't be able to hit us."

He set the _Slave 1 _down on a patch of dry ground and opened the hatch, doing his customary check of the area before descending. There was no sound from the dense forest around him. The sun had already set, and the sky was darkening. He would have to move quickly if he wanted to make it to the mansion before dawn.

He tucked his blaster pistol back into its sheath and turned around. The girl had come out down the ramp behind him, looking around timidly. Boba brushed away the sudden rush of attraction that he couldn't seem to control and pointed at her.

"You'll stay here," he said. "Wait with the ship. I'll be back soon."

"Where are you going?" the girl asked.

"To claim the bounty, of course."

She shook her head. "You can't. Not even you could make it through these jungles at night, Boba. Let's make camp here, and I'll make some food. We can head for the mansion in the morning."

"You mean _I _can head for the mansion," Boba countered. "You're not going anywhere."

But as he lit a small fire and watched her gather fruits from the nearby trees for their dinner, he had the distinct feeling that convincing her to stay behind was not going to be that easy.

*****

U-ra was in luck. It was the right time of year for camping in the forest; the seda fruits were ripe and plentiful. She picked a few and instructed Boba to sharpen some skewers for her. Then, she sat across the fire from him and tended the fruits while they roasted.

"Do you always wear that helmet?" she asked after several minutes of silence.

"Yes," he replied.

"I don't see why," she said, allowing a petulant, flirtatious tone to creep into her voice. "You're very handsome."

He just stared back at her, ignoring the compliment. Or at least, she _assumed _he was staring. He could have been smiling, or frowning, or … or sleeping, for all she knew. Really, that helmet was quite aggravating. She'd have to find a way to make him take it off.

Then it hit her: of course he'd have to take it off when he ate, unless he absorbed his food through a straw, or something like that. She reached forward and poked one of the roasting fruits, jerking her hand away as the hot rind burned her fingers.

"I think they're done," she said, removing two of the skewers from the fire. She handed one to Boba and kept the other, but didn't touch it. Instead, she watched the bounty hunter intently.

He looked back at her. "Would you mind not staring? I'm a little shy."

U-ra gritted her teeth. _Curse him! _That drug was supposed to make him _more _attracted to her, not _less. _It was almost as if he suspected her little game and was refusing to play along.

Then a chilling thought struck her: maybe he _did _suspect. Maybe he was only going along with her because he knew he could outplay her. She shook the thought away. _That was impossible. _

She looked back at him. He had removed his helmet and was eating with quick, precise bites. U-ra copied him, enjoying the rich, sweet taste of the seda fruit on her tongue.

Across from her, Boba tossed his now-empty skewer into the fire and leaned back against the tree he was sitting under. "That wasn't bad," he said, and she knew that was as much of a compliment as she could expect.

"Thank you." A sudden idea occurred to her, and she scooted closer to him. Touching his shoulder, she looked up at him with her best "cute" expression and said, "Boba, I'm scared." She winced inwardly. _That was a horrible line. Scared? With the galaxy's best bounty hunter as her companion? It was ludicrous. _

He reached out slightly, as if he was going to stroke her cheek, then drew his hand back. U-ra marveled at his strength of will._ It's almost as if he's determined not to touch me _because _he wants to_.

"Scared?" he said. "Don't be. I'll protect you."

There it was: an admission that she was worth something to him. Subtle, but there nonetheless. U-ra jumped on it.

"How can you protect me if you're twenty miles away at Jooren Ven's mansion?"

"I should think most of the trouble will be there, not here," he said.

"But there's big animals about," U-ra mumbled.

"So stay in the _Slave 1._"

"But what about you? I don't want you to get captured."

He laughed shortly. "And how would you help prevent that?'

_Time for a little white lie. _"After Jooren Ven killed my mother, he brought me to his mansion as a slave. I wasn't freed; I escaped. I know where all the traps are located, and how to get past them." She paused, trying to put just the right amount of desperation in her voice. "You're going to need me, Boba."

A slight narrowing of his eyes expressed his displeasure, but all he said was, "Very well. But if you prove a nuisance, I'll leave you behind. Do you understand?"

She nodded. "Thank you, Boba." Leaning forward, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He stiffened, and she hurriedly turned away and headed up the ramp into the _Slave 1. _She could feel Fett's eyes boring into her back the entire way.

*****

_In her dream, she was nine years old once more, and her mother was shoving her into the closet, tears streaking her face as she whispered, "He's coming! Hide, sweetheart … don't make a sound!" The door shut, but a crack in the wooden panel offered her limited visibility. _

_A man standing in the doorway, his face obscured by a helmet with a T-shaped visor. A gun in his hand, pointed at her mother. A single burst of light, a body falling to the ground … a scream tears from her lips as she bursts out of the closet, crying, "Mommy! Mommy!" as she shakes the still form. The bounty hunter's impassive face looking down at her as he picks up the still-warm body of the woman before him and leaves._

There were hands on her shoulder, shaking her awake. "Mommy," she mumbled.

Boba Fett's rough voice answered her. "I'm not your mother."

Her eyes snapped open, and for a moment, she was confused. "Don't hurt me," she whimpered. "Please!"

He drew his hands back. "U-ra," he said; his voice held a note of compassion that she hadn't heard before. "You're having a nightmare."

_It's called a flashback, _she thought, sitting up. Aware that she was clad only in a shirt for the night's sleep, she shoved the bounty hunter's arm, pointing in the direction of the door.

"Go away," she said. "I'm going to get dressed."

He left, and by the time she was up and ready to go, he'd put his jetpack and helmet on, and placed his blaster in its holster. For all she knew, he slept in his armor.

"Are you all right?" he asked once she joined him. "You were moaning loud enough to be heard at Ven's mansion, I should think."

"It was just a bad dream," she growled, forgetting for a moment that she was supposed to be trying to win him over.

"Are you ready to go, then?" he asked. "You can still change your mind."

U-ra composed herself. _Dwelling in the past now would not do her any good. _"I'm ready," she said, and followed Boba Fett into the depths of the jungle.

**Pronunciation Guide:**

**U-ra - YOO-rah**

**Jooren Ven - JOO-ren VEN  
**

**Seda - SEH-duh (seda fruits are a sort of squishy tropical fruit that tastes good when roasted but can be poisonous raw)  
**


	4. The Beast

Chapter four: The Beast

**Summery: Boba has to save U-ra yet again when her life is threatened by a hunting creature.**

**Note: the following things were created by me for the purpose of furthering the story: the marix, and Boba Fett's mystic "solvent". In reality, I have no idea if he has such a thing, but it seemed like a conveniant tool.  
**

Boba Fett crouched behind a convenient outcrop of boulders, scanning the area through his visor. He could make out the forms of two guards, patrolling the forest floor with their blasters ready. Boba allowed himself a grim smile. They wouldn't be expecting an attack from above.

"Wait here," he commanded the shivering girl behind him. They had been hiking all morning, and she was beginning to look tired. But the bounty hunter had no pity for her; when he was half her age, he'd undergone far more vigorous activities than this while training with his "father", Jango.

Checking to make sure that the girl really was obeying his instructions, Boba activated his jetpack and soared up into the branches of a nearby tree. He could see the guards below, looking around in confusion.

"What was that noise, Vorxa?" the stouter of the two asked, peering shortsightedly into the trees.

"Dunno, Koorn," the other said, shrugging. "It was like a big _whoosh, _with a sort of _vuurm _attached to the end."

"Whoosh-vuurm, huh?" Vorxa said, shaking his head. "Damn birds … they're getting smarter all the time."

Up in his tree, Boba allowed himself a quiet chuckle of amusement before he leaped down on them, firing his blasters at one and scorching the other with the flames of his jetpack. He landed between the guard's bodies and sheathed his blaster pistol.

"I'm not a bird," he said.

He saw a head peeping out from behind the rock cluster and waved his hand, motioning to the girl that it was safe to come out. She ran over, avoiding the two bodies with a look of distaste.

"I'm really thirsty, Boba," she panted. "We must have walked ten miles already. Can't we take a breather and find some water?"

"Didn't I warn you, back at the camp, that if you came with me, you had to keep up?" Boba growled.

"Yes," the girl said defiantly. "But I didn't realize that you were such an endurance machine."

He cocked his head, listening intently through his helmet, which amplified the sound of the jungle around him. "Over there," he said, pointing to the left.

U-ra stared blankly at him. "I'm sorry … what?"

"You said you wanted water and a breather – I'm giving you the chance," Boba replied. As reluctant as he was to pause now, the girl wasn't going to do him any good if she collapsed from exhaustion. And, as much as he hated to admit it, he didn't like to see her so uncomfortable.

U-ra gulped down huge mouthfuls of the water from the tiny spring that bubbled out from beneath a boulder. Boba sat next to her, scanning the forest ahead of him. U-ra looked at him in admiration; she'd never seen anyone as thorough on the job as the Mandalorian bounty hunter.

"I feel better now, thanks," she whispered, peering over his shoulder. Shortly ahead, the bottom of the gorge dropped away suddenly, and only a thin ledge would get them safely past the gaping pit. Boba saw it and grimaced.

"I don't like the look of that," he said. "One misstep, and you're gone. I don't have to be so careful … after all, I've got this." He tapped his jetpack.

"Don't worry about me," U-ra murmured. She couldn't help feeling touched by the bounty hunter's concern, even though she suspected it wasn't from any personal attachment to her.

"I'm not worried," Boba said, fulfilling her suspicions. "I just don't want you to die before you've paid me."

She couldn't keep a scowl from coming to her face. _Do I really mean that little to him? _"You're a hard one, Boba Fett," she said. "No wonder you're always alone. I bet you couldn't keep a woman if you tried."

He stiffened as if she'd struck him. "Don't talk about things you have no understanding of," he growled. His dark eyes flashed behind his T-shaped visor.

Suddenly, U-ra recalled what else she'd read when she studied his file: that he'd once been married, and how the relationship had been short and ended badly.

"I'm sorry," she said, and truly meant it. "I shouldn't have-"

"What's done is done," Boba said. "No matter what regrets you might have, the past will never change. It's pointless to look back." He seemed to be talking more to himself than to her.

"I'm sorry," she said again, fighting against the urge to throw herself into his arms and weep. _What's happening to me? _she thought, dismayed. _He's supposed to be falling for me, not the other way around! I can't let this happen!_

"Come on," she said, standing up and running out onto the ledge. "Let's not waste any more time."

"U-ra, wait. STOP!" Boba yelled, but it was too late.

Dimly, as if she was in an alternate reality where everything was slowed and muted, U-ra heard the screech of the hunting marix, Baramorra's most fearsome predator. As the huge, featherless, bird-like creature swooped down on her, she closed her eyes, expecting at any second to feel the sharp claws tearing at her flesh.

_Fool! _The voice rang inside her mind. _You fool! You should have listened to Fett. Now all your planning, all your hard work … it's all useless. You're a damn, damn fool, U-ra, and you're going to die like one._

She felt something slam into her, knocking her backwards. A strong arm encircled her waist and a hand cradled the back of her head, protecting her from harm. She had the sensation of rushing downwards, yet it felt like floating on a bed of clouds.

A second before impact, she felt her position suddenly reversed, and she landed with a soft thump. She opened her eyes.

She was lying sprawled across the bounty hunter: her legs entangled with his, her hands on his armored chest. His arms were still protectively around her, his warm hands touching her back. His helmet had been thrown off in the fall, and was lying a few feet away.

"Boba," she whispered. "You saved me. Why?"

"I told you I would protect you," he said. "I never break my word."

She looked away, not able to prevent a single tear from leaking under her eyelid. It fell and splashed onto his cheek. She hadn't realized until now how deeply she'd fallen in love with him … and how badly she wanted him to love her back. It could never happen.

_My god … what I'm planning to do … how can I ever go through with it now? After this? I can't …_

More tears followed the first. Angrily, she tried to push herself away from the man beneath her, but his arms held her back. She had barely noticed the fact that she wasn't moving before he grabbed her face with his hands and pulled her down, kissing her deeply.

U-ra gasped, too surprised at first by his sudden action to return the kiss. After a few seconds, he pushed her away slightly and stared up at her.

"I'm sorry," he said – rare words coming from the mouth of Boba Fett. "I thought … you wanted …"

"I do," U-ra said, and leaned down to kiss him again.

"It feels strange," he said once she'd pulled away again. "Like I've done this before."

_You have, _thought U-ra wryly, recalling how she'd touched her lips to his while he was unconscious after the rockslide on Gambolla. _You just don't remember it. _Wisely, she said nothing, only laid her head down on his chest and sighed. One of his hands gently stroked her hair.

"What was that you said back on the cliff, about me and women …" Boba asked after a while. U-ra was shocked to hear a slight teasing note in his voice. _Can this really be the same Boba Fett I've been with the last couple of days? Has some impostor taken his place?_

"I didn't say you couldn't _get _a woman … just that you didn't seem to be so good at keeping one," U-ra said, frowning. "But isn't it a bit too early in the relationship to be speaking of such things?"

She tried to lever herself off of him, but to her surprise, he winced and held her back. Now that she looked closer, she could see small beads of sweat running down his forehead.

"Boba? Are you all right?" she asked, concerned. Without waiting for a reply – she knew that he probably wouldn't answer the question anyway – she sat up, and immediately gasped in dismay.

Apparently, her estimation of being torn apart by the marix' claws was accurate … or at least, she would have been torn apart if Boba hadn't leapt in front of her and taken the blow himself. His Mandalorian armor offered him better protection then her flimsy leather clothing, but there was still a large chunk ripped out of his chestplate. The cloth below it was stained red.

_And he's really been laying here for this long, with me on top of him, and not even a grimace to express how much agony he must be feeling. This man really is amazing. _

"I'm all right," he muttered, as if he could sense her thoughts. He tried to lever himself into a sitting position, but fell back with a small groan.

"We've got to get you out of this armor," U-ra said, trying to ignore the small voice at the back of her head that said, _perfect! As long as I can keep him vulnerable like this …_

She countermanded her thoughts by putting her hands on his shoulders and saying, "Boba, we shouldn't go in today. We should wait until you're better."

"I told you, I'm fine," he replied as he helped her remove his chestplate and shirt. She couldn't stifle a little gasp at the sight of his bare chest, covered in sweat and streaks of blood. She resisted the sudden urge to kiss him again. _Not now, U-ra. _

Upon closer inspection, the damage wasn't as bad as she'd thought at first. The scratches – three in all – were long, but not deep. As she might have expected, the armor had taken most of the force out of the blow. She found the section that had been ripped off and brought it back to him.

He'd already torn off part of his cloak and tied the fabric around his torso to stop the bleeding. When she approached him, he was busily inspecting the rips in his shirt.

"What?" he said, as he glanced up and saw her staring at him.

U-ra blushed. "Nothing. You're just very … well built."

"I should be," he said, taking the piece of his chestplate from her. "I've been training since I was a child."

She squatted down next to him. "What now? You can hardly go barging into Jooren Ven's mansion half-naked and dripping blood."

He raised an eyebrow. "I have no such plans. Fetch my helmet."

Narrowing her eyes, she did as he commanded. He pulled his shirt over his head, wincing slightly as the rough fabric slid over his makeshift bandage. Then he fitted the chestplate over the top. Lifting the broken piece, he removed a special glue from his pocket and fastened it back on. He waited for a few seconds, tapped it gently from all angles, and stood up.

"There," he said. "That should hold at least until I can get it repaired. As long as I don't take any blaster fire on that side." He put on his helmet, then investigated his jetpack, which had taken the brunt of his weight during their fall off the cliff.

"No good," he said, shaking his head. "I won't be getting any use out of this model for a while. I guess that means we'll have to climb out of here."

U-ra smiled secretively. "Not necessarily," she said. "There's another way. Just follow me …"

**Pronunciation Guide:**

**U-ra - YOO-ruh**

**Vorxa - VORKS-uh**

**Koorn - KOO-orn**

**Marix - MARE-icks  
**


	5. The Trap

Chapter five: The Trap

**Summery: Boba struggles to come to grips with U-ra's betrayal - at the same time that he faces a life-threatening situation.**

**Note: in this chapter, I made up the story about Boba longing for a maternal influence in his childhood ... I thought that seemed realistic. I also made up the Number 1 rule to being a bounty hunter ... and the fact that Tuhgri make good bodyguards. It seems like my list of additions is getting longer *sniff* and here I tried to keep the story exactly true to Star Wars *sniff***

U-ra's "alternative way" was a pipe that carries the mansion's waste down to the pit they'd fallen into. It was about four feet in diameter, and the bottom was covered in a thin sheet of filthy water. Even through Boba's helmet, the smell was awful.

The bounty hunter kicked away an inquisitive sewer rat that had attached itself to his boot and stifled a sigh. He was wishing now that he had never accepted the job. It wasn't the stench, or the fact that he was creeping into his target's mansion through a sewer pipe, or even the throbbing pain that spread across his side from the marix' claws.

It was the girl, U-ra. Even now, in his mind, Boba Fett was damning her to burn in the fires of Hell for all the trouble she'd caused him. Ever since he'd become aware of his growing attraction for her, he'd tried to be even colder, and push her away as much as possible. But she'd persisted in baiting him with coy looks and little hints until he could barely control himself. He was beginning to understand why his father had shunned women and raised a clone of himself instead of a biological son.

When he had been about five years old, Boba had gone through a phase where he longed for a motherly presence in his life. Childishly, he had tried to pair his father up with every woman in the area. But then, one night, Jango really _had _brought a woman home, and Boba had been ignored for the rest of the evening and sent to bed early. After that, he decided that women were a pain and that it was better with just him and his father. And then had come that terrible day when he was ten years old …

Silently, the bounty hunter wondered what Jango would think of him now, trudging through a waste pipe behind a nineteen-year-old girl … a girl who Boba had recently kissed.

_Number one rule of being a bounty hunter, Boba, _Jango had once told him. _Never … _never! … _get involved with your clients. _

_Well, I've already broken that one, _Boba thought. A rare emotion – grimly, he recognized it as guilt – coursed through him. He had tried so hard to conquer his unreasonable attraction for the girl and not to lead her on, but ultimately, he had failed.

_What's she going to think, when you just take the money and walk away after the job is done? _Boba wondered. The answer came immediately: _she's going to think you're the cold-blooded bastard that you are. _And then another thought: _what am I going to think? _

He forced that one out of his mind. He was so close to completing this job. All he could afford to concentrate on now was how to sneak into the mansion and kill Jooren Ven. He could worry about the girl and her tender feelings afterwards.

Speaking of the girl, she had seemed unusually jittery since they'd entered the pipe. Boba almost asked her what the matter is, but he decided against it. _After all, _he thought, _she's just been kissed. That's got to have an impact on her. _

As a matter of fact, kissing was the thing furthest from U-ra's mind. All she could think about was what was waiting at the end of the tunnel, and how much she hated leading Boba Fett right towards it.

*****

The girl's voice spoke out of the darkness ahead, startling him for only a moment.

"We're here," she said. "This ladder leads right up towards the kitchens of the mansion."

"Right," said Boba, doing a quick check of his equipment to make sure everything was there. "You wait here … I'll be right back."

"Let me at least come to the top of the ladder with you," U-ra pleaded. "It's not safe down here in the sewers … in about ten minutes, they'll be letting out of the waste for the day."

Boba sighed deeply. _Hadn't he already dragged this girl far enough? They hadn't run across any traps – except for the marix, and he could have avoided that by himself. In fact, without the girl, he could have been finished and back to the _Slave 1 _by now. Well, it was too late for regrets. He'd brought her this far … why not a bit further? _

"All right, but only to the top of the ladder. Once we're in, you'll find a place to hide and _stay there. _Understand?"

She nodded, and he placed his hands on the cold rungs of the ladder and began to climb.

He had just gotten to the top and was reaching up to shift the wooden trapdoor leading to the kitchens when he felt her grab his boot. When she spoke, her voice was shaky but urgent.

"Boba, wait," she said.

"What's the matter, U-ra?" he asked.

"I …" She melted completely with his use of her first name. "You never asked me what my last name is."

He sounded surprised. "Does it really matter now?"

"Y-yes, it does." She paused. "It's Ven … my name is U-ra Ven."

Alarm bells went off in Boba's brain, but before he could react, the wooden panel he was gripping was lifted up, jerking him off balance. He caught a glimpse of a darkly furred face peering down into his before two darts smeared with anesthetic pierced his neck, right below the edge of his helmet. Sturdy arms grabbed him as he swayed and dragged him up, laying him flat on his back on the floor.

"It's him," a voice said. "It's Boba Fett. Good work, Miss Ven."

"Boba," another voice said … a familiar voice. As the drug worked its way to his brain, sound wavered on and off, as though filtered through a transmitter with bad reception.

"Boba, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The voice was U-ra's. He felt hands removing his helmet, and a pair of lips kissing his forehead.

"You …" he gasped. His voice sounded strange in his own ears. He couldn't feel his hands. "You be … trayed … me."

Then his world crumpled around the edges and all light was extinguished.

*****

"You have done well, my daughter. You're mother – bless her memory – would be proud."

"Thank you, Father."

"I wasn't sure you could do it."

"Do you doubt my ability now, Father?"

"You ability, no. Your heart … that is a different matter. Nuen tells me that right before the bounty hunter walked into the trap, you tried to warn him."

"I didn't warn him, Father. I merely told him my last name."

There was a noise like someone snorting. "To a bounty hunter of such marvelous skills, something like that was all the warning you needed to give. You might as well have filled him in on all our plans, while you were at it."

"I'm sorry, Father … my eagerness for him to know he'd been outsmarted betrayed me." The voice was female, and very cold and stiff. Like a corpse talking, Boba thought. Then: _I'm thinking, and hearing things. I must be awake. _

"Nuen tells me something else: that when the bounty hunter was darted, you apologized to him. That you held him and _cried _over him."

"Who do you trust more, Nuen – or your own daughter?" the cold voice said.

_I know that voice, _thought Boba.

"At this moment, Nuen, my dear," the other voice said. A male voice … older and with a touch of cruelty.

Boba wiggled his thumb. He senses seemed to have returned, but he couldn't move his hands or feet apart from each other, and he couldn't open his eyes. He lay still and continued to listen.

"Come, come, do not cry, my dearest U-ra," the male voice said. "I do not blame you. It is all the bounty hunter's fault … he appears to have seduced you and turned you over to his side."

_Hardly, _thought Boba. _If anyone was doing the seducing, I think it was her. _

"I assure you it is not so, Father," U-ra said. "I know my own heart … is there anything I can do to convince you of it?"

There was the sound of pacing, as if someone were deliberating a difficult course of action. "You may wake up our guest and converse with him," the male voice said at last. "I will judge from your treatment of him whether or not you have weakened."

Boba heard footsteps approaching him. Moments later, a foot thudded into his ribs. _It didn't hurt nearly as much as it should have, _Boba thought. _Either the anesthetic has done strange things to my nerves, or she's pulling her blows so she won't hurt me. Either way, it won't harm anything to let them think I'm injured. _

U-ra kicked him again, and this time, he rolled away from her foot, holding his side and groaning. He heard a quiet chuckle in the background and opened his eyes.

He was bound hand and foot, lying on the floor of a large antechamber. He had been stripped of his armor and weapons. U-ra was standing in front of him, looking at him coldly. But when he caught a glimpse of her eyes, he could see that her actions were hurting her.

_So, _he thought. _She really _was _in love with me. In that case, the kindest thing I can do it make her think I hate her. Then she'll have no reason to feel guilty for leading me into a trap. _

He narrowed his eyes, noticing as he did so that there was blood crusted on his forehead.

U-ra stared at him, her eyes brimming with tears. _I'm sorry! _She mouthed.

"You traitorous bitch!" he growled. "I took care of you and protected you, and _this _is how you show your gratitude?"

His words had the desired effect. Instantly, her expression changed from guilty to angry; she kicked him again, and this time she did nothing to soften the blow. A bolt of pain shot up his side, and he gasped.

"You had it coming to you, Fett," she snapped. "You deserve this."

_Ah! _thought Boba. _We're coming close to a motive here. _

"For what, may I ask. Saving your life?" He smiled slyly. "Perhaps you resent that kiss I gave you?"

Her booted foot twitched, but she didn't kick him. Looking up at her, he was surprised to see her face twist in real grief. She bent close, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and snarled, "For killing my mother."

Of all the motives he'd been expecting, revenge for the death of her parent hadn't been one of them. "I don't remember doing that," he said. "I thought _he _did it." He jerked his chin in the direction of the richly robed, grey-haired man standing off to the side.

"That's my father, you idiot … of course he didn't kill my mother."

Boba shrugged. "You never know. Are you sure you don't have the wrong bounty hunter?"

She gritted her teeth. "I'm sure."

"Well, then …" he hesitated. Now was his opportunity to _really _make her hate him. "Killed the mother and kissed the daughter. I guess I got lucky. Pity I didn't get your father as well … we could really have had a good time then, huh?"

She stared at him for a second, then stood up and kicked him right in the face. Fortunately for Boba, he had recovered enough that he was able to roll away before she could do any damage. His cheekbone was throbbing – he'd have a good bruise there, later – but at least his nose wasn't broken.

"You bastard," she hissed, leaning close so that the man standing behind her couldn't hear her words. "I actually thought you cared about me!"

"I thought the same about you," he replied, his voice as low as hers. "But I guess I was wrong. Just goes to show you, you can't trust anyone." He raised his voice again, directing his words at the grey-haired man. "So you're Jooren Ven? I don't think much of your parenting skills. Fancy leaving your teenage daughter in the hands of a ruffian like myself."

Jooren Ven smiled: a thin tight line across his face that revealed no humor … only cruelty and spite. "U-ra understands the importance of getting revenge. I was content to merely have her lead you here, but she was the one who insisted on the added touch of the aphrodisiac drug. She thought it would … how shall I say … improve her chances."

_An aphrodisiac! _Boba thought. _That explains my unexpected attraction for her. She must have slipped it to me while I was unconscious on Gambolla. _

"Very clever," he said. "If we had been together longer, it might actually have worked." Shooting a quick glance at U-ra, he saw that the effects of his strategically planned comments. She might not have liked his callous comments about kissing her, but his denial of any attraction for her whatsoever had hurt her far worse. _So she really did love me, _he thought again. His instinctive dislike for U-ra's father deepened. _What kind of man uses his own child like that, without thought of the emotional damage she'll be taking? _

"Well, what now?" he asked, shifting to a more comfortable position on the floor. The ropes were well tied, and without his armor and weapons, he had a distinctly low chance of escaping from the mansion unharmed, even if he were to take the Vens hostage. _Didn't Y'rukkso warn me of a trap, back on Gambolla? _He thought. _I never suspected that the trap was traveling with me from the beginning. They really set this up. Which means … they're going to want a lot more than just money. _

Jooren Ven's line-thin smile got wider … and, if possible, even thinner. "Now, Mr. Fett, you die. I've been waiting for this moment for ten years, when I would finally be able to get revenge for my poor wife – bless her memory. How carefully I have planned! Now everything is flawless, and I shall have my revenge." He gestured at the doorway, where two hulking Tuhgri bodyguards waited. The Tuhgri were highly valued as bodyguards and servants because of their selflessness and intense loyalty to anyone they considered to be a part of their "tribe" … which included anyone they'd been in contact with for a period of over three months.

The taller Tuhgri stepped forward and grasped Boba's shoulders in its powerful hands, dragging the smaller, slighter bounty hunter to his feet. He stumbled, still being bound, and the creature severed the rope with a knife.

As he was led away, Boba glanced over his back. U-ra was staring after him. He nodded once in her direction.

Then the great antechamber doors slammed behind him and he could see her no more.

*****

"The nerve of that man is incredible," Jooren Ven muttered, shaking his head. "He's being led off to his execution, yet he acts as though he's an honored guest being shown to his room." Smiling his unpleasant smile, the slaver motioned to another of his many servants.

"Yiik, make sure that the cameras in the death chamber are recording. I have a feeling that this is one I'll want to watch again and again."

Hearing a small sound behind him, Jooren Ven turned. His daughter, U-ra, was bending over to retie her shoe. He crossed over to her and gave her a quick pat on the head, like one might to an errant but well-meaning puppy.

"Now, why don't you go get cleaned up and dressed in something nice? I'm sure that once you see your mother's killer struggling for his life in my death chamber, you'll feel much better."

The girl did not leave. Instead, she straightened up and gave him a hard look. "Father, you told me that mother was murdered. But Boba Fett is a bounty hunter … so there must have been some money in it for him. Was there a bounty on Mother's head?"

Jooren narrowed his eyes in frustration. "Of course not, you stupid girl. I already told you this: Fett killed your mother because he wanted her, and she refused."

U-ra frowned, but bowed her head. "Of course, Father. My mistake. I'll be down shortly."

She turned and marched briskly from the chamber, the outward picture of a well-behaved, obedient daughter. But on the inside, her thoughts were in a turmoil.

She had never really loved her father, who had only come into her life after the death of her mother, to claim her. Up until this point, she had respected his judgment and been united with him in a single cause: finding her mother's killer and seeing that he died.

But now that she had actually met the bounty hunter named Boba Fett – met and gotten a chance to know him on a personal level – she realized that he was not the sort of man to kill a woman out of lust. Therefore, there must be something her father wasn't telling her. But why would Jooren Ven want to hide knowledge of a bounty that had been placed on his late wife – from his own daughter?

The other thing troubling her was Boba Fett himself. He might be cold-hearted and cynical, but he wasn't cruel. His comments about her mother had seemed entirely out of character. _He must really be angry with me, _she thought, with a little sigh of dismay. _After all, I _did _betray him. _

Then she remembered something else: when she'd actually gotten a chance to talk to him outside of her father's hearing, he had acted differently, dropping all traces of cruelty from his voice.

U-ra frowned. _If Boba Fett had betrayed me, _she thought. _And I really cared about him, and I knew that he cared about me and felt bad for what he'd done, but that he didn't have a choice about fixing it or changing it, what would I do? _The answer came to her immediately. _I would be as nasty to him as I could possibly be, and try to make him feel justified in betraying me, so that he didn't have to feel bad. _And as soon as she thought that, she instinctively knew that that was what Boba had done.

"He's protecting me even now," she whispered to herself. "Even after everything I've done, he's still trying to make sure I'm safe."

_I thought he was nothing but a murderer who deserved death for his crimes. But it turns out that Father and I are the murderers, not Boba Fett. Father says that Mother would be proud of me, but I don't think so. She always encouraged me to be true to the ones I love, and never to go against my heart. Well, I love Boba Fett, and my heart tells me that he shouldn't have to die. _

She suddenly realized that her unconscious had figured all of this out long before her mind had time to tell her; she was already sprinting towards the death chamber. She ground to a halt and changed directions.

_I'm coming, Boba … just hold on a little while longer. I have something I need to do first._

**Pronunciation Guide:**

**U-ra Ven - YOO-rah VEN**

**Jooren Ven - JOO-ren VEN**

**Marix - MARE-icks**

**Nuen - NOON**

**Yiik - YIKE  
**


	6. The Rescue

Chapter six: The Rescue

**Summery: Time is running out for Boba Fett, and it's up to U-ra to rescue him before it's too late.**

**Note: I'm so proud of myself! I wrote this entire chapter without taking any creative licenses! Please review and show your appreciation!!!  
**

For the first time in his life, Boba Fett had given up and resigned himself to death. Oh, he had been in life-threatening situations before – many of them – but never any as hopeless as this one.

Jooren Ven's "death chamber" was filled with the cold stench of lost lives. It was a small cylinder, just three feet in diameter and about seven feet high. The bottom was perforated with many small holes, but the metal was too thick to break through; he'd already tried. He had been dropped in through the hatchway on top, and apart from having his hands tied, he was free to find a way out.

But there was no way. Perhaps if he'd still had his weapons, he could have put a few blaster bolts in the hinges of the hatchway and climbed out to safety. But without them, trapped and alone, he was helpless.

He squatted on the floor of the cylinder and focused on wrenching his hands free of the encumbering bonds. To pass the time, he envisioned all the different methods of demise that this chamber could provide. They couldn't mean for him to suffocate from lack of air … the small holes in the floor would render that method impractical. It was far more likely that they meant for him to slowly die from lack of food and water.

He had just gotten one of his hands free when he felt something cold on his knee, which had been planted on the chamber floor. Looking down, he saw that the area around his feet was awash in water, which was coming up through the innocuous holes in the floor. He stood up and cast off the rope, smiling grimly at the irony of the situation. _So, I'm not meant to die from _lack _of water, but rather from too much of it._

There was a crackling noise, and a little waterproof microphone implanted in the upper edge of the cylinder came on.

"I trust you are comfortable, Mr. Fett?" Jooren Ven's cold, sneering voice spoke, as clearly as if the man had been standing in the death chamber with him.

"Oh, yes. I was rather dirty, and I needed the bath," Boba replied, thinking, _I won't give this man the satisfaction of hearing me plead for my life. _

There was a dry chuckle from the other end of the line. "You're a difficult man to intimidate, Fett. I'm sure that the world will not mourn your passing … you must have made many enemies. The news of your death will bring great rejoicing."

"I'm sure it will, when the time comes," the bounty hunter said.

Ven's irritation was almost audible. "That time is now, Fett. You've defied death long enough … enjoy the last moments of your fruitless life while you can!" The sudden silence indicated that the connection had been terminated. Boba looked around until he had spotted the camera, which was installed on the opposite side of the cylinder. Tearing off a tiny piece of his shirt, he stuffed it in the camera's miniscule lens – he didn't want Jooren Ven keeping an eye on his escape attempts.

The water was up around his waist by this time, and moving higher every second. Planting his hands and feet against the metal sides of the cylinder, Boba tried to inch his way up the smooth walls in hopes of being able to wrest open the hatchway from the inside. But the cylinder was slippery, and the wet condition of his boots was not good for gripping. He slid back with a splash.

His next thought was to try the bottom for weaknesses. Taking a deep breath, he plunged his head underwater, feeling around on the floor for any sign of a hinge or crack. There was nothing. Frustrated, he stood up again, shaking water out of his black hair like a dog.

The water was halfway up his chest now. Reflexively, he moved his hands and feet through it while he thought, his brow furrowed in concentration.

_He was not tied down, which meant that as the water rose, he'd be able to access higher parts of the chamber … namely, the hatchway. However, if there was any chance of him being able to escape that way, they would have shackled him. _

_No – _he corrected himself – _just because no one has done it before doesn't mean that there's not a chance. _

He leaned his head back, feeling the water soak into his hair, and closed his eyes, waiting. Boba Fett was a most patient man; he could wait for as long as he needed to. He was in no hurry now.

But it seemed as though his would-be executioners had different ideas. There was a groaning, as though a number of pipes were being forced beyond their capacity, and a stronger jet of water bubbled up from underneath the surface. He let the water carry him as it would, and within seconds, his feet were no longer touching the floor.

He reached upwards, placing his palms flat against the roof of the cylinder. Kicking his legs to keep himself afloat, he took a deep breath as the water closed over his head and concentrated all his strength on pushing upwards on the closed and sealed hatchway.

Suddenly, it gave way, and he shot upwards in a rush of water. Grabbing onto the edge of the chamber, he hauled himself onto the dry ground, gasping for breath and coughing up water. He rolled onto his back, savoring the sweetness of the air in his lungs.

Moments later, he became instantly alert as he saw movement in the corner of his eye. Reaching out, he grabbed the leg of the person standing next to him and dragged it down, rolling on top of it and pressing his forearm against its throat.

"B-boba, don't!" a voice gasped. Frowning, the bounty hunter eased the pressure on his victim's windpipe and removed his hand.

It was U-ra.

*****

U-ra winced and brought her hand up, rubbing her throat where he'd pressed it. She couldn't look him in the eyes; instead, she stared off past his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't want to betr-" She was cut off as a pair of warm lips pressed against hers. She could feel the dampness of his skin; small drops of water from his hair fell onto her face as he kissed her. She sighed and closed her eyes, kissing him back.

The moment ended as suddenly as it had begun. He pulled away and sat up, checking himself for any injuries in a business-like manner. When he was satisfied that all was well, he looked over at her.

"Why did you do that?" he asked.

"Do what?" she said, confused.

"Why did you save me? I thought you wanted revenge for your mother's death."

She looked away. "I realized that it wasn't your fault. I mean, you may have killed her but …" her voice broke. "Someone paid you to, didn't they? You didn't do it because she wouldn't obey you, like Father told me."

His face, when he looked at her, was devoid of any emotion. "I wouldn't believe everything your father tells you."

"So … so you _were _paid?"

He rubbed his chin. "What was your mother's name?"

"Nissa … Nissa Dero."

He nodded. "I think I remember being commissioned to hunt someone by that name. The order was " wanted alive", but when I came to get her, she had a gun and tried to shoot me. She refused to come, saying that she couldn't leave her 'baby'."

"Th-that must have been me," U-ra managed to choke out. Tears beaded in her eyes as memories rushed through her. She felt a rough hand on her cheek and looked up, surprised, to see Boba looking at her with unusually gentle eyes.

"Do … do you remember who … who hired you?" she asked.

He nodded. "It was a man calling himself Jovor Neen. He wore a hooded cloak, so I never saw his face."

U-ra's spine stiffened with sudden realization. "No …" she whispered. "I don't believe it. It can't be! He … he couldn't have done it. Not my mother!"

Boba's voice was grave as he said, "Face the facts, U-ra. Your "father" didn't come into your life until after your mother died, right? Then he suddenly showed up and took you to live with him. What was his excuse: that he hadn't known you existed before?"

"And the name," U-ra mumbled. "Jovor Neen all jumbled around makes Jooren Ven. He had to have done it. But why? Why would he hire a bounty hunter to kill his own wife?"

"I suspect she was not his real wife, but a mere concubine that he happened to get with child. She ran away, and he hired me to get her back." He lifted up her chin so that he was looking straight into her eyes. "I am sorry it ended up the way it did, U-ra."

She shook her head, brushing the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. "Don't be. If things really were the way you said, then she probably would rather have died then returned to someplace she wasn't loved." She took a deep breath and looked up into his dark eyes, searching them for the courage to say her next words.

"What happens now, Boba?" _Please, _she thought. _Please don't tell me I'm on my own …_

"We get out of here," the bounty hunter said. "After that … well, I'll take you somewhere safe, where you won't have anything to worry about."

"You'd be willing to do that for me?" she asked. "Even after I betrayed you?"

"You've realized that the death of your mother wasn't my fault, haven't you?" he said. "Well, I've realized the same thing about you betraying me. You're father put you up to it, just like he hired me. The blame lies with the person who set the actions in motion, not the people who carried them out."

She closed her eyes. "Thank you," she breathed.

He removed his hand from his face. "We can talk about all this later, U-ra. Right now, our biggest priority is getting out of here with our lives. It would be easier if I had my armor …"

For the first time in a while, she felt like smiling. "One step ahead of you there, Fett. I found the room where Father was keeping it and took it. It's right over there … all your weapons too."

He didn't say a word of thanks, but the swift kiss he gave her was much better. His lips lingered a moment on hers, as though he was reluctant to break away. Then he was gone, quickly strapping on pieces of the battered Mandalorian armor.

"Come on," he said, sliding the helmet over his head. "Stay behind me. I don't want you getting shot."

She nodded and followed him through the door of the execution room and down the corridor. It was empty, but she knew that wouldn't last for long. By now, her father would have figured out that not everything was going as planned, and he would be sending all his servants after them.

In the end, Boba Fett spotted their pursuers first. He whipped his blaster out of its sheath and calmly shot down the two guards at the end of the hallway. Then he paused, to see if the others were aware of their comrades' deaths.

They made it to the end of the passageway without mishap. Boba kicked the door open and pointed his blaster into all the corners of the room. It was completely empty. On the far side was a bank of windows with a balcony running along the outside that led to the side of the gorge. Once they made it through, they would be safe.

The bounty hunter moved out into the room, his helmeted head swiveling to either side. As U-ra stepped out after him, she reflexively looked up to the secret alcove above the door, where her father sometimes stationed troops. To her horror, there was a man there, carefully hidden behind a blackout screen. And he was holding a blaster, which was aimed right between Boba Fett's shoulderblades.

Without thinking, U-ra leapt forward, crying, "Boba! Watch out!"

The bounty hunter spun around, his blaster already raised, but it was too late. The man in the alcove above the door had already fired.


	7. Fett's Revenge

Chapter seven: Fett's Revenge

**Summery: This is the final chapter! If I get enough reviews, I will do a sequel. I hope you enjoy it, everyone!  
**

As if in slow motion, Boba Fett saw the hidden soldier fire his blaster, saw U-ra gasp in sudden pain and crumple on the ground. The man paused, obviously astonished to have hit the wrong target, and that split second was enough to seal his doom. He died soundlessly as Boba's blaster bolt found its mark on his forehead.

Within seconds, the bounty hunter was crouched by U-ra's side, supporting her head and shoulders. She blinked up at him, her face blank with shock.

"Are you … okay?" she mumbled.

"I'm fine … you're the one you should be worried about," Boba replied. He held her up with one hand, examining her wound with the other. The laser bolt had penetrated the soft flesh right under her ribcage; the bounty hunter could tell from her weakening pulse that she didn't have long to live.

A thousand questions crowded his mind, but foremost among them was: _why would she do this for me? Why?_

"You fool," he said softly. "You should have stayed put."

"I couldn't just … stand there and watch while he shot you, Boba," she said. "That's … what I realized, right before I came to rescue you …" She coughed, and a thin stream of blood ran from the corner of her mouth. Boba wiped it away with the back of his glove and waited patiently for her to finish.

"When I first met you," she whispered, "all I could think of was getting … revenge … for my mother. But I guess, after all … I kind of fell in love with you. Even though … I knew that you didn't … feel the same about me, it was still nice to … pretend. When you kissed me, I felt happy for the first time I can … remember." She reached a trembling hand up towards his helmet, and he intercepted it and held it in his own.

"I guess my only regret is that … your attraction for me was only because of a … a drug. That it wasn't … real."

He bent down to her, resting his masked forehead on hers. "Who knows?" he murmured. "Things might have turned out the same even without the drug."

She smiled slightly, closing her eyes. "Will you miss me, Boba?"

"I make it a habit not to dwell on the past," he said. "But I won't forget you."

She sighed deeply and an expression of peace spread across her face. "You're so kind … just one last thing. Please? I … I just want to see your face one more time before I die."

Moving slowly, so as not to jar her, he reached up and removed his helmet. His brown eyes met her blue ones, and he leaned down and kissed her gently. As his lips touched hers, he could feel the life rushing from her body. He ran his hand over her face, closing her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "that I didn't protect you better."

Someone had said once: _apologies mean nothing to the dead, _but Boba knew that wherever her spirit was now, she would hear him and approve.

Carefully, he lifted her limp body and placed her on the broad, raised windowsill. The light shining on her face made her seem almost angelic. His fingers brushed her smooth cheek in a barely noticeable gesture as he turned away.

"Wait here for me a little longer," he said. "I have some business to take care of."

He put on his helmet and strode further into the depths of the mansion.

*****

Jooren Ven's private chambers had the air of languorous wealth; everything, from the thick carpet on the floor to the engraved murals on the walls pointed to the fact that its owner was an aristocrat.

Now, blood was soaking into the carpet's fine fibers, and several scorch marks from a blaster pistol adorned the once-stainless walls. Boba Fett stepped past the bodies of the guards he'd slain and proceeded further into the chambers.

He found Ven closeted away in one of the inner rooms, shouting frantic orders into a microphone. When he saw Boba, he dropped his transmitter and pointed an accusing finger in the bounty hunter's direction.

"You! You just refuse to die, don't you! What have you done with my daughter?"

"She's dead," Boba said calmly. Only one who knew him well would detect a hint of menace in the tone of his voice, and the way his masked head was tilted forward.

Ven gasped. "Dead? Fett, you monster! First you take my wife from me, and now my only child?"

Boba Fett's gaze was hard behind his helmet's visor. "I didn't _take _anyone from you. May I remind you that _you _set a bounty on your late wife's head?"

"I wanted you to bring her to me _alive, _not fried to a crisp!"

Boba shrugged. "Accidents happen."

"I see," the aristocrat said venomously. "And was it an – accident – when you killed my daughter?"

"I didn't kill her," Boba replied. "She died because she jumped in front of a blaster beam to save my life. If I'd known what she was going to do, I would have stopped her." He took a step forward and jabbed an accusing finger into the other man's chest. "But this is _your _fault, Ven. You should never have involved her in your twisted plot for revenge. She could have been happy, but you came and took her happiness away. So don't blame me for what happened. I was hired to come here and kill you, and that's what I'm going to do."

"W-wait!" Ven shrieked, shrinking away from the menacing figure in front of him. "M-my daughter never actually intended me to die …"

Boba's evil grin was wasted on the other man. "She still hired me," he said. "And – too bad for you – she never cut off the contract. As far as I'm concerned, I'm still on the job."

"I can p-pay you ten times what you would have earned for killing me!"

"You could, but you won't," Boba said flatly. "Besides, you're daughter paid me with her life … and that's something no one can place a value on. Sorry, Ven … it looks like your time's run out." Seizing the former aristocrat by the back of his expensive robes, Boba hauled him out of the room and down a series of corridors to the room that housed the "death chamber". The water, which had never been turned off, had flooded the entire room in several inches of wetness, and was still bubbling up from the holes in the bottom of the cylinder.

"F-fett! You can't be meaning to put me in _there!" _Ven's voice cracked on the last word.

"Oh, but I can." Boba pushed his captive through the water to the open hatchway and pushed him forward. With a despairing scream, Jooren Ven disappeared, sinking under the water as if the floor had swallowed him up. His head and arms appeared again, flailing madly. Boba pushed him under the surface with his booted foot and closed the hatch, locking it tightly in place. He waited for a sufficient amount of time to ensure the aristocrat's demise, then opened up the door to the death chamber.

Jooren Ven's limp form bobbed up and down in the swelling tide of water, his sightless eyes staring at the ceiling.

"There," said Boba, staring down at the pale corpse. "Consider the debt paid off." He turned around and strode from the room.

*****

Epilogue: _Two Years Later …_

Boba Fett scrolled through the list of available bounties on his ship's computer. He was in an unusually good mood, having just successfully collected a bounty on the human smuggler and crime lord Fenau V'nei, who'd been hiding out on the planet Kaal in the Yushan System. V'nei had been well-protected, and had put up quite the fight himself; Boba still had a few scratches from the encounter. It had been thrilling, considering that these days, most of the bounties he went after surrendered as soon as they saw him coming.

His thoughts on other matters, he automatically counted off bounties that were of no interest to him. _Yoo Wen Do on the planet of Ladarra – wanted alive for questioning: 1200 credits. _

_I think not, _Boba thought. _I've been to Ladarra before … it's too dusty. Bad for my armor. _

Next on the list was Yussen, a Squalris merchant wanted by the Black Sun for selling items on the underground without their consent. Boba shook his head. He made it a rule not to get involved in Black Sun business.

He moved his finger down to the next one and froze. _Nin Dero, unknown location. Wanted alive for theft by Seroka the Dug Lord: 900 credits. _

Boba blinked. Normally, he would have passed by so small a bounty. But the last name struck a chord in his memory. He clicked on the link for more information. A picture came up.

Boba felt his heartbeat accelerate in his chest, something that usually never happened even in intense action. The woman in the picture was young, about 21, with light brown hair that had obviously been dyed. But her eyes were the giveaway.

_They're U-ra's eyes, _thought Boba. _The shape, the color … everything. Ven thought that U-ra was his only child, but is it possible he was wrong? _

He put in a quick transmission to one of his many information sources. "Eeab, it's me … Fett. I want you to find out everything you can about a girl named Nin Dero."

"Sure thing, Boba," his informant's weaselly voice replied. "Just a minute … ah, Nin … Nin … here we go. She's the child of Nissa Dero – no recorded father. It says here she had a twin sister, named U-ra, but that they never grew up together. Apparently, Nin was given away as an infant, and somehow managed to end up getting sold to Yukka the Hutt, who lost her to the Dug Lord Seroka in a gambling game. But a few months ago, she ran away and stole Seroka's new ship … boy, he's ticked about that. He put a bounty on her head, but it hasn't been claimed yet. Let's see … she was last seen heading towards Issor. Was that helpful at all?"

"Yes, very. Next time I see you, I'll be sure to give you a reward. For now, I have other business to attend to. Fett out."

_So, _he thought. _U-ra _does _have one more family member. And here I thought I'd had a hand in the deaths of all of them. But it sounds like the last one's in trouble. The Ven/Dero family seems to have general bad luck._

Smiling grimly, he turned the _Slave 1 _around and set a course for Issor.

**Pronunciation Guide:**

**U-ra Ven (YOO-ruh VEN)**

**Jooren Ven (JOO-ren VEN)**

**Nissa Dero (NEE-suh DARE-oh)**

**Nin Dero (NIN DARE-oh)**

**Eeab (EEB)**

**Seroka (suh-ROH-kuh)**

**Yukka the Hutt (YUH-kuh thuh HUT)  
**


End file.
